Homelessness is not just a societal issue; it is a deeply personal crisis that affects the emotional, psychological, and physical well-being of those experiencing it. For individuals facing homelessness, the journey is marked by isolation, instability, and overwhelming uncertainty.
Shelters like St. Benedict’s Shelter and Daniel Pitino Shelter serve as essential lifelines, offering more than just a roof over their heads — they provide the support and services needed to restore dignity and stability. However, these nonprofit shelters face their own daily crises — crises that are often compounded by the lack of adequate funding and resources.
Despite these challenges, they continue to serve as beacons of hope, and with the support of the community, they can continue to make a profound impact on individuals experiencing homelessness.
The personal crisis of homelessness
For many, homelessness is the result of a series of personal, economic, or health-related crises — whether it be job loss, family instability, mental health issues, or addiction. When someone becomes homeless, they are often forced to confront a harsh and unforgiving world where survival becomes the only focus. Homelessness is more than just lacking a place to live; it is a deep emotional and psychological crisis that erodes a person’s sense of worth, leaving them vulnerable, isolated, and often in poor physical health.
The mental toll of homelessness is significant. Anxiety, depression, and trauma are common among those experiencing homelessness. Alongside this, the constant struggle for food, shelter, and safety leads many to feel hopeless, powerless, and disconnected from the support systems that could help them recover.
St. Benedict’s Shelter: Offering Immediate Relief from Personal Crisis
St. Benedict’s Shelter provides a critical safe haven for those caught in the midst of a homelessness crisis. More than just a temporary refuge, the shelter offers a space where individuals can regain a sense of safety and begin the process of recovery. For those who have been living on the streets or in unstable conditions, the shelter often represents the first step toward healing.
One of St. Benedict’s greatest strengths is its holistic approach to homelessness. Beyond offering a bed, the shelter provides case management, transitional housing, access to mental health services, addiction recovery programs, and job readiness support, such as resume building and interview strategies. This comprehensive support structure is essential in addressing the underlying causes of homelessness and helping individuals regain their independence.
However, the shelter’s ability to provide these critical services is directly tied to its funding. As a nonprofit, St. Benedict’s Shelter relies on the generosity of donors, grants, and community support to sustain its operations. Without this funding, the shelter struggles to meet the growing demand for services, limiting its ability to help those in need.
Daniel Pitino Shelter: Restoring hope and pathways to stability
Similarly, the Daniel Pitino Shelter plays a vital role in helping individuals navigate their personal crises. The shelter provides not only emergency housing but also a range of services designed to address the root causes of homelessness — whether addiction, trauma, mental illness, or financial instability.
What sets the Daniel Pitino Shelter apart is its focus on empowering individuals to regain control of their lives. Through access to job readiness programs, life skills training, and mental health support, the shelter helps people work through their crises and move toward stability. Additionally, it offers a safe and supportive environment for families, including parents and children facing homelessness together.
Despite its critical role in the community, the shelter faces significant challenges. A lack of consistent operating grants and government funding means that the shelter must rely heavily on donations and fundraising efforts to remain operational. This ongoing financial uncertainty creates a crisis for shelters like Daniel Pitino, which are already working tirelessly to address the crises of those they serve.
The crisis nonprofits face: Lack of adequate funding and government support
While nonprofit shelters like St. Benedict’s and Daniel Pitino are on the front lines of addressing homelessness, they face their own daily crisis. Many shelters struggle to secure adequate funding to cover operational costs, let alone expand their services to meet growing demand. These shelters rely on donations, fundraising campaigns, and a patchwork of small grants, which leaves them vulnerable to financial instability.
Government support, while essential, often fails to fully meet the needs of shelters. Operating grants from local, state, and federal sources are limited, and competition for these funds is fierce. Shelters typically receive only a small fraction (around 4%) of the total government support for operations, while the remaining 96% goes toward direct client services. This leaves shelters to make difficult decisions about how to allocate resources — sometimes cutting back on services or limiting the number of people they can serve, despite overwhelming demand.
This financial strain not only affects the shelters’ ability to provide essential services but also puts a burden on staff, volunteers, and the individuals seeking assistance. When shelters are forced to operate on limited resources, it becomes even harder to address the personal crises that those experiencing homelessness face.
How you can help: Join us in breaking the crisis cycle
While the challenges are significant, there is hope. Shelters like St. Benedict’s and Daniel Pitino cannot do this work alone — they rely on the community’s support to continue providing critical services. Your involvement, whether through donations, volunteering, or advocacy, can help break the cycle of crisis faced by both the homeless and the shelters that serve them.
- Donate: Financial contributions are the lifeblood of nonprofit shelters. Donations help ensure that shelters can continue offering essential services, such as case management, addiction recovery programs, job training, and housing assistance. Even small contributions can make a huge difference in stabilizing individuals and families and helping them regain independence.
- Volunteer: Volunteers provide valuable support in numerous ways — assisting with shelter operations, offering emotional support to residents, and helping with fundraising. Your time and expertise can have a lasting impact on someone’s life.
- Advocate: Raising awareness about homelessness and the challenges faced by shelters is critical. By advocating for increased funding and resources, you can help ensure that shelters have the support they need to continue their work. Your voice can play a significant role in urging policymakers to prioritize homelessness services.
- Fundraise: Organize or participate in fundraising efforts to support shelters. Community-driven campaigns are essential to helping shelters remain operational and expand their services. Every dollar raised goes directly toward supporting the individuals who need it most.
A Shared Commitment to Ending the Crisis
Homelessness is a complex, multifaceted crisis that takes a significant toll on those affected. Shelters like St. Benedict’s and Daniel Pitino provide vital support, offering not only temporary housing but also a comprehensive network of services to help people regain stability and independence. However, these shelters also face their own crisis, rooted in financial instability, limited funding, and insufficient government support. As funding to operate gets harder to obtain, our buildings are older, which means a higher cost to operate and maintain. These dollars could be used elsewhere if we only had a new building. As good stewards of our communities’ financial support, we get by the best we can with what we have.
As we work together to address homelessness and support those in need, it is essential to recognize that we all play a part in alleviating the crisis. By donating, volunteering, or advocating for greater support, we can ensure that shelters have the resources they need to continue offering hope and a pathway to stability. Together, we can help remove the crisis of homelessness and provide a brighter future for individuals in need.
Get involved today by visiting us at pitinoshelter.org and stbenedictsowensboro.org, scheduling a tour, or contacting us directly to explore ways you can make a difference. Your support is the key to breaking the cycle and creating lasting change.
I hope and pray that through these articles supporters are being created, donors informed, stigmas removed, and perspectives changed. I also pray that 2025 is filled with new volunteers, donors, and success stories!
I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas,
Harry E. Pedigo, MSSW, MHFAI, CENM
Executive Director
St. Benedict and Daniel Pitino Shelters
